Researchers from the University of Bristol led a workshop entitled "Continence Problems in Young People. Translating the evidence into designing support
materials for schools" which outlined the findings from two research studies.

This in-depth qualitative research, the first of its kind in the UK, explored the impacts of continence problems for young people at secondary school
and the barriers to their effective management. The study also assessed current awareness, practices and future information needs of school staff.

Contrary to popular belief, continence problems often persist into adolescence.

In an average sized secondary school there could be around 30-40 young people affected.

Under the Children and Families Act (2014) schools are required to provide appropriate support for children and young people with health problems.

However, the findings indicate that the needs of young people with bladder and bowel issues are not being met.

Key points include:

Continence problems are common in young people, but some schools are not complying with their legal duty to make arrangements to support children with
a medical condition.

Addressing the challenges starts with educating teachers and other school staff.

Secondary school staff need support to understand their responsibilities and to know how to respond to the unique needs of young people with continence
problems.

The statutory guidance from the Department for Education on 'Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions at School' should include guidance for schools
on clear and discreet procedures to make disclosing continence problems easier for young people.

Young people with continence problems may need extra time during exams and additional support to catch up with missed parts of lessons.

This requires a national approach to address unequal provision between schools.

This report is based upon research led by Dr Carol Joinson, Reader in Developmental Psychology at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health at the
University of Bristol, in collaboration with ERIC – The Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity, which was funded by the Medical Research Council
and Economic and Social Research Council.

This research has been welcomed by many organisations in this sector, and Dr Joinson would like to acknowledge the role of ERIC, the Paediatric Continence
Forum and Bladder and Bowel UK in informing this work.

What is the Roadmap? The Roadmap is a one-page digital tool with a series of hyperlinked buttons that guide you through the actions and resources needed in order to
provide high quality RSE ready for the statutory requirement.
Who is the Roadmap for? The Roadmap was designed with Heads and Senior Leaders in schools in
mind, to use together with their PSHE Leads and governor leading on RSE. The step by step approach breaks the task of preparing for statutory RSE
into manageable chunks.
When does the journey start? Some of the steps on the roadmap require considerable planning and lead-in time, so we'd encourage
you to share the roadmap with governors, Heads and SLT now.

Looking for more support? Dr Polly Haste, Head of Training & Practice,
will guide delegates through using the Roadmap and a range of other tools in a pair of workshops at an RSE Countdown conference on 30 November 2018.
Polly is running separate workshops for primary and secondary schools which provide a fantastic tool box to ensure you are ready for statutory
RSE. Time is running out to book your ticket!
RSE teachers survey - preliminary findings from a survey of 240 teachers of RSE in England have been published. The Sex Ed Forum found
that 29% of those teaching RSE had not had any training in the subject at all. 20% said they lacked confidence in adapting teaching to meet the
needs of children with SEND, and 21% said they lacked confidence on making the curriculum LGBT inclusive.

A news story with headline findings is available here,
and was also covered by TES.

Rise Above aims to help teachers deliver PSHE lessons to engage young people on a variety of key health issues, including: smoking, body image
in a digital world and exam stress. Download engaging lesson plans, PowerPoints and films: